BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Japanese watch giant Seiko is well known for producing feature-rich, tough as nails dive watches that are hard to beat in their price bracket and category. Last month we looked at the new Stealthy Black series limited edition watches and now Seiko has released a bunch of new variations of their widely popular dive watch the ‘Turtle’. Featuring a sapphire crystal, a new bezel with ceramic insert and new textured/patterned dials, the new SRPE03K1, SRPE05K1, and SRPE07K1, aka ‘King Turtle’ watches have been designed to offer an elevated ‘Turtle’ experience. Let’s have a quick look.
SRPE05K1
A long-standing member of Seiko’s dive watch family the ‘Turtle’ has always been instantly recognizable courtesy of its distinctive cushion style case and nothing much has changed on this front with these new ‘King Turtle’ offerings. The stainless steel still measures a large 45mm in diameter and has a thickness of 13.1 with a short, integrated lug structure for great wrist comfort, offers a water resistance of 200 meters, and has an offset screw-down crown at 4. While the dimensions remain unchanged, it is the choice of modern materials that separates these new ‘King Turtle’ watches from the original ‘Turtle’. Firstly, the hardlex crystal has now been replaced with a sapphire crystal with a magnifying window. And secondly, the bezel insert is now ceramic instead of highly scratch-prone aluminum.
SRPE03K1
Like the case, the dials on the new ‘King Turtle’ watches remain familiar but have been refined to lend these watches a more upmarket feel. Out of the three new watches the SRPE03K1 and SRPE05K1 feature a nice squared guilloche dial, whereas the dial on the SRPE07K1 has been presented with a nice ocean wave style pattern reminiscent of the previously released ‘Save the ocean’ turtle watch. Both dials are well executed and offer added visual interest. As for the layout, you still have applied hour markers that along with the unique looking handset have been filled with Seiko’s proprietary lume formula; Lumibrite, to offer a bright glow in dimly lit situations.
SRPE07K1
No changes have been made to the mechanical underpinnings and all the three models are powered by Seiko’s workhorse caliber 4R36. This is an automatic movement that operates at a low frequency of 3 Hz and offers an autonomy of around 41 hours. As these are industrial-looking movements, they have been hidden behind the closed case back.
The new Seiko Prospex ‘King Turtle’ watches are a great addition to Seiko’s ever-growing collection of dive watches and once again offer great bang for the buck. The SRPE03K1 (Black dial) would come attached to a steel bracelet and would retail for EUR619. The SRPE05K1 (Green dial) and the SRPE07K1 (Blue wave dial) would come attached to a rubber strap and would retail for EUR599.
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